1. Field of Invention
The presented invention relates to a surface element upon which workmen are supported. In particular it is a support surface attached to a prime mover such as a front end loader or forklift and has one or more movable wings or platforms to extend the work area and adjust it to the vertical contour of the work.
2. Related Art
Throughout the construction and facility maintenance industry there exists a requirement to provide workers with a safe platform on which to work above ground level. To date this requirement has been met in a variety of ways from very simple built-in-place wood and steel scaffolding to self propelled lifting devices. While many methods of providing elevated work platforms exist, falls from scaffolding continue to be one of the major safety problems in the construction industry. To be effective the scaffolding system must provide a stable platform upon which workers may move about; its height should be adjustable to the work being performed since continued bending and stretching can lead to injuries and reduce productivity; it should be re-locatable quickly and safely; and be economically practical as compared to other systems.
Three major types of scaffolding are known to be in use in the construction industry. Scaffolding framework made of steel or aluminum tubing assembled on the job site with timber or manufactured walkways is one widely used system. It is labor intensive to relocate, relies on uniform support of the surface where erected and generally provides a working surface in 2 foot increments of elevation. The walkway portion of the system is manually moved up or down as the work progresses exposing the workers to increased danger of falling during the process. The invention presented here could be moved in a matter of minutes to another location by one person and adjusted to the exact height and slope of the work.
A second method widely used in residential and light commercial construction are manually operated jacking systems. These generally use wood, steel or aluminium vertical members set on the surface of the work site and secured at their top to the structure being worked on. A jacking mechanism is attached to vertical members and planking is laid between each jack. This system requires considerable labor and exposes personnel to high risk of falling while attaching the upper support of the system to the building. Many times it is used without proper walkways and handrails. With the invention presented here the walk way and handrails would be an integral part of the machine insuring safety procedures are more easily followed.
A third method widely used is the self propelled and/or power lifting scaffolding systems. Some use hydraulic actuated arms to lift a working platform into position, or some type of scissor arm arrangement to lift and lower the work platform. While these systems allow the mobility similar to that of the invention presented here they differ in several ways. They use an internal system of power for movement and lifting, they do not provide the long span foldable work platform provided by this invention, and the work platform is not designed to be configured into a stairway type support system.
While a wide variety of attachments are available for use on front end loaders and forklifts a scaffolding system utilizing movable arms and self-leveling steps is not produced. Many times "jury rigged" platforms are used on forklifts or front-end loaders. To date those known to the inventor include only simple box like platforms with no moving parts.